By Rail
by CT1
Summary: Prologue to Ronin Warriors; A boy leaves home, and makes the aquaintance of a perfect stranger
1. By Rail

"By Rail"  
  
(companion to "By Road")  
  
by CT  
  
With a labored chugging, the train pulled free of its station. Gradually gaining speed, it meandered down the tracks  
  
A boy in his teens gazed out the window, watching the trees speed by. Forest stretched to the horizon. Far to the east, it thinned, making way for an occasional house. Straining his eyes, the boy squinted; a city brooded beyond the domiciles, and he could almost convince himself that he saw skyscrapers.  
  
Looking forward did more good than looking back. His home lay far behind him, swallowed by the woods and miles of track. Surprisingly, the expected sickness for the familiar did not come. Which each passing hour, he felt his heart grow a little lighter.  
  
His shoulders, bunched from tension, lowered a little with a relieved sigh. The further away he got, the better for everyone.  
  
"Do you mind if I sit here?" inquired a pleasant voice. A boy stood in the aisle, about the age of the first. Cinnamon spikes framed earnest, sea-colored eyes, which crinkled into a sheepish smile. "Sorry to bother you," he added, the words tinged by a faint accent.  
  
The first youth nodded, moving aside his knapsack and navy blue blazer to make room. As he shrugged the jacket on over his T-shirt, the stranger sat down. "Thanks," he said, gently depositing his own load on the floor.  
  
"It's no problem," the other responded, faintly surprised that he meant it. Usually such an intrusion set his teeth on edge. Though not hostile, he got the feeling he rarely made interlopers feel welcome. To his own shock, he continued, "My name's Sage."  
  
"Just Sage?" asked the second boy. An odd, understanding expression flashed across his face, then the soft grin returned. "Then I suppose I'm just Cye."  
  
Sage inclined his head again, this time in a more cordial greeting. The corners of his own mouth turned up. "So where are you going?"  
  
"This is going to sound a bit weird...but I really don't know."  
  
At last, Sage managed to place the accent as British. "Me neither."  
  
"Have you ever been to Toyama?" asked Cye, following Sage's gaze to the distant skyline.  
  
"No."  
  
Silence fell. As it stretched, Sage felt the unease began to creep back in, charging his muscles, setting every nerve on an electric edge. The time approached, and he could only wait for it.  
  
Usually he craved the quiet but this was not the peaceful kind; it was a fidgeting, twisting apprehension, irritable and jumpy. Suddenly, he needed reassurance, to fill up the empty space with words. "Have you?"  
  
It took so long for Sage to finally speak that his acquaintance dozed off. Cye blinked and shook himself. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Next stop, Toyama," thundered the conductor.  
  
"Oh," realized Cye, "No, I'm not from around here...." he trailed off, and his gaze grew distant. "I've never been so far from..."  
  
Sage held up a hand. "It's probably better if you don't tell me."  
  
"...the ocean," finished Cye. A bit of mischief crept into his gaze. "You make it sound like I'm running away."  
  
"More like running toward," Sage returned, folding his arms. He found himself growing comfortable with this perfect stranger; how odd.  
  
Without warning, the train shuddered to a stop. No protest of brakes, no slowing of the engine, the great vehicle simply froze. People jolted to their feet, swaying to keep their balance. Several men yelled, and Sage recognized the deep commands of the conductor. "Keep calm," the voice instructed, "Technical difficulty."  
  
Looking out the window, Sage's visible eye widened. Furious thunderheads assaulted the sky, whipping the serene blue into a boiling mass of black. A low booming accompanied the banks, deeper and more menacing than thunder.  
  
In the mass of confusion, no one noticed a single teenager slip out the back door. A low wind whined, whipping Sage's hair into a wilder frenzy. Pushing it back with one hand, he stared slack-jawed at the source of the turmoil. A castle hung above the city, a great, gloating beast. It practically oozed malice, malevolence, a thousand other evils too numerous to place.  
  
"It's here," he murmured, shuddering to feel all that hatred aimed directly at him. Though his mouth formed the next word, the necessary command, no sound followed.  
  
Cye stepped up next to him, watching the roiling mass. The kind face hardened, eyes narrowing under furrowed brows. "I know."  
  
A flash of cerulean and a streak of emerald hid both boys. The blinding power disappeared in the same instant, leaving both boys clad in sleek armor. The skin-tight metal shone in the stormy light, identical save the coloring.  
  
"I thought so," grinned the one in blue. He held out a hand. "Cye of the Torrent."  
  
"Sage of the Halo," answered the second warrior. Once again, he found himself glad of the company. They clasped forearms briefly in proper introduction. Then they turned toward Toyama.  
  
________________________________________________________  
  
"Up here, bucket head!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
The demon whirled around. At the top of the building stood two boys, dressed in armor.  
  
"I'm Cye of the Torrent; Trust is my symbol," proclaimed the one in blue,  
  
leaping down from the skyscraper.  
  
As Cye fell, his companion followed. The second boy looked perfectly calm, though he plummeted head-first toward the pavement. He coolly folded his arms. "Whoa, check out Ugly," he commented nonchalantly. "I'm Sage of the Halo; my power seeks Wisdom."  
  
At the last instant, the green-clad warrior righted himself. The boys stood facing the demon. 


	2. Notes and Disclaimer

Author's Notes  
  
There are plenty of Ronin Warriors "origin" stories, explaining how they all met up. However, very few seem to take the events of "Shadowland" (1st episode) into account. The Ronins aren't a big, happy family. Ryo arrives alone, and the rest show up in pairs, introducing themselves.  
  
The pairs intrigued me; they weren't the 'best friends' (Cye and Kento, Rowen and Sage) which developed along the way. Rowen and Kento, at least, seemed to know each other already. ("This is my friend; heads up!" – Rowen, Shadowland).  
  
I honestly don't know where the idea of a train came from. It just sort of fit.  
  
I like the understanding felt in this story. Though Sage and Cye are the more "insightful" of the group, I don't think they could instantly tell if they met a fellow Ronin Warrior.  
  
______________________________________  
  
And now for everyone's favorite feature,  
  
1 "If I Owned the Ronins"  
  
On today's segment, CT goes into excruciating detail on how she would release "Gaiden," "Kikoutei Densetsu," and "Message" as a dual language (Japanese/English) Collector's Edition DVD. She would also release "Ronin Warriors" on DVD so she could stop worrying about the deterioration of video tapes. Next, she would go scream at the KB people for their hideous re-release of the Ronin Warrior toys until they groveled for mercy and made decent ones.  
  
But since you now know what the segment's going to be about, there's really no point in continuing. Go play outside.  
  
  
  
Thanks for reading!  
  
~CT 


End file.
